Somewhere far from the forest, a kingdom floating in the sky could be seen. Dozens of small projectiles floated in and out of said kingdom. These, however, were not cannonballs or orbs of destructive magic. Instead, they were letters, papers, and other kinds of communications. Some were more important, dictating the status of cities separate from the main kingdom and near the other races.

Some were for friends so far apart that the letters could only just barely reach them. Those same letters sometimes get lost in the snow too.

Simply entering this kingdom would fill your veins with ice. The frost engulfs every inch of space imaginable. It was no surprise that only humans are able to stay here long-term, they were always known for their adaptability. Especially as a general support force during war.

Every structure has a bit of ice creeping up them. Unlike vines and moss that seems to leech off the abandoned structures, the ice hugs the walls and structures as if they helped support them. Which, wasn’t too far off. Ice is generally considered when making plans in this kingdom.

Hospitals are instead made of ice.

“Open up four more beds! We need more space!” A commanding voice was heard. Catching the attention of the workers nearby and urging them to do as told. It was nearing the end of the Vampire-Wolf war, humans at some point were unanimously agreed upon to be healers of the fallen in war.

In this scene, a long rectangular room– almost like a hallway– was filled with beds full of various humanoid creatures. Usually, the fallen in war are separated into an entirely different section of the hospital but some can still overflow in the general area of the hospital. Lately, this meant that the entire hospital was being filled to the brim.

At the moment, the loved ones of both the ones in war and in common injuries are hastily shoved out of the way by rushing doctors.

Humans were never ‘war-like’. Compared to other races, they are by far the weakest. Not only physically, but also in offensive magic. Yes, some of the more greedy ones still led wars in the past, but you would almost never see an army solely full of humans.

Those ones are already gone.

Despite that however, humans have proven themselves to be worthy of being equal to the other races. Limited as they are, their ability to adapt has allowed them to squeeze out of desperate situations.

Their history on the other hand, is still heavily splattered with blood. Just like the other races.

At several points, they would side with other races in wars that would benefit them the most. The wolves claimed that they were flocking to whatever was the strongest at the moment, calling them cowards.

In the end, they eventually grew with enough power that they could claim themselves to be neutral. Which came as a shock to the other races. Usually, with what their previous roles were in various wars, this would make them the target for the more prideful races.

There wasn’t much backlash however since they offered aid to all that are severely injured at war. So there wasn’t much difference in the end, at least in terms of the humans’ influence to the other races.

They also became the center for sending out letters and documents to long distances. The business for it quickly grew in the humans’ kingdom. So it would be a bit of a death sentence to attack the humans and disrupt that. It would setback potential growth for everyone.

This person however was no human. With pointy ears hidden under messy hair, he internally cursed humans for living in such a cold environment, literally. ‘Insane, they are.’ He thought as he shivered, in spite of being buried under several layers of clothing.

He had to admit though. It was much warmer here than in the elven kingdom, ironically enough. When he was first tasked to live here and gather fighting experience, he never expected such a soothing environment.

It was at that moment that it struck him. The reason why the candidates were taken in by the government at such a young age was because of this exactly. The diverse skill set that comes with living in a different race’s kingdom is valuable. Yet, it was this change in perspective that causes so many of them to stray away and defect.

Having them pledge their loyalty early makes them less likely to slip from their fingers.

He was sure that every memory back there would have been forgettable if they weren’t trained to retain memory clearly. And, against his every expectation, every single memory he made here was equally vivid, if not more so.

Most was warm and genuine, he recalled picking up a stray cat and having no one to yell at him for doing so. He remembered taking a nap after a stressful night and waking up naturally rather than being drenched in cold water, before he was swiftly ordered to take a shower.

In fact, he never realized how much he frowned until one of the regulars at the bar he stayed at asked him in concern.

Speaking of which, he was tasked to be a ‘drunk’ at one of the humans’ bars. With the assumption that he would regularly get into fights before moving on with a different identity. Likely a thug afterwards.

That was the plan. But it never went that way. Instead, whenever stray drunks– which was what he called non-regulars who didn’t know what they were doing– start to get violent in the bar or near it, he would step in. He wasn’t even sure how it happened, the change was so gradual in the time he stayed.

The elf would take a deep breath, inhaling the frigid air, and somehow have it feel so warm in lungs. So much warmer than the place he calls home. And, with eyes closed, he felt a few tears prickle.

The facts and logic that his mind was built out of, blurred as his opinions clashed with his logic. A constant conflict that would no doubt disappoint the higher-ups the moment they hear of his hesitation. Hear of his waning loyalty.

In the end, he wasn’t too sure what to do. To continue with his mission, to hurt and use people for his own growth. Or to stray from his roots and truly become a leaf from the winds.

He had somehow become one of the ‘Protectors,’ as dubbed by the neighborhood. Does he really consider himself that though?

In the dwarven kingdom meanwhile, they hammered down scathing metal with casual ease. The dwarves had just recently sent off another export to the elves. It consisted of heat-resistant metals; like steel, graphite, rhenium and more.

They did this yearly, along with the usual metals that were for construction, so they just assumed it was for a tradition or something. It was pretty easy to find their kingdom. You just need to look for a tower of black.

It wasn’t a structure however. It was pure smoke, trailing out from the holes littered on the ground. Said holes led to the cave wherein the dwarves actually reside.

Naturally, their magic was mainly Fire magic. As opposed to the humans’ Ice-Healing magic. Their flames burned, eating up impromptu defenses in the previous wars. Their strictly business relationship with the elves was no easy feat with how much forests the dwarves burnt.

The elves weren’t their main foe however.

Some instinctual part that existed in everyone wasn’t so surprised that the leaders of humans and dwarves were bitter enemies. Destructive fire vs Healing ice, even a monkey could put them together as opposites. This is in spite of their business relationship, which didn’t count because the humans have that with everyone.

People from both kingdoms are eternally grateful that their leaders’ ‘rivalry’ died down to passive-aggressive insults, rather than bloody wars that would paint acres of snow red.

The dwarves handled the flames with both skill and talent. They would carve out the most intricate shapes in metals. Some were weapons that were made for practicality, some were ornaments or jewelry that would make even the deceased cry out in wonder. The flames that they wield flow so elegantly, as if the flames were alive. Their skill in war and combat were second only to the elves.

This land below land– in a massive cave that the dwarves crave– also houses an elf. Now how would she fit in, you would ask? It is because she is not of age, to even be engaged. A child, that she was.

It would end in an uproar to the elves if this came out. Not even the government knows about this, a majority of it anyway. To the girl, she was but sent on a mission, akin to the other candidates. And yet, she could barely do what she was tasked to do.

Esriel crumbled down with her face buried on her knees as her arms wrapped around herself. ‘Why… are they like that?’ She felt pangs of pain and hurt when she remembered her schoolmates. The scowls and glares sent her way. It made her flinch, even though they weren’t here.

Guilt was also thrown into the mix. From her stacking failures in combat, to her stacking failures in her mission.

To her stacking failures of being normal. Esriel didn’t know most of the dwarven customs. She didn’t need to be reminded of that. If she was anyone else, she would’ve snapped the moment they tried to remind her that. She knew this enough times with the painful burns littering her arms to the aching pain of having her ribs kicked in.

‘At least no ribs were broken.’ She thought bitterly. Yeah, just bruised.

It would only be a few minutes later that she would recover enough to stand up. Not completely, never completely. She had to move forward. To do her mission properly. Perhaps, she would make her parents proud enough to make up for what she did. She never really got the chance to apologize after her little outburst.

Esriel went to her room in the dorms, head lowered and gaze to the floor all the way. Not that she noticed.

After pulling out paper and a pencil, which was really just a stick of lead. The dwarves don’t use pencil sharpeners here. They instead either cut off bits using their nails or use fire magic. Esriel had to improvise and use wind magic to grind away the lead into a sharp point.

For a moment, she wondered if she should write back to her parents before pushing out the idea entirely. They had no reason to hear back from a failure of a daughter anyway. It wasn’t as if she had any friends either, she was shy even before she was sent away.

In the end, she pulled out her mathematics book and did some assignments ahead of what was given to them. At least this way, it would be only reduced to insults from the smarter kids in class rather than being used as a target for their experimental spells. The entire time, the stick of lead in her hand felt heavy. As if it was ready to fall off her hand the moment she went to rest.

Though, Esriel supposed that was accurate to her current life here. The moment she gives up is the moment she loses. She didn’t hate losing. In fact, if losing was a person, she was sure they would be best friends with how much she loses. But she doesn’t think she would be able to handle another line of failure in her quickly growing list.

She was useless enough.

Esriel wondered if there was ever going to be a point where something just clicks. Actually, it’s more likely that she’ll just to painfully and slowly adapt into this new life. This… incredibly lonely and dreadful life…

That night, she cried.

It would be years later when she would come across a secret that may bring her race into despair and despair. Secrets kept from will have been brought into light, cutting her path into either revenge or forgiveness. But either way…

It was a burden on her shoulders.

Kettlelinna Benchflower POV

“You killed him…” My words cut through the silence that swallowed the air, destroying that suffocating stillness. Only for the stillness to slowly emerge since Jeylin didn’t respond. He was silent. Like me, after I had said the only words in my mind.

The deadpan on his face started becoming more and more of a mask than the usual sign of casualness. I could tell, his eyes burned with emotion.

In the long wait, I began to gather myself. Enough to think at least. And what I’ve come to find after thinking is… confliction. I was conflicted, unable to properly sort out my head. In an attempt to break out of my statue-like state, I pulled on one of those conflicted emotions and muttered the words I could.

“...I thought you were better…” I felt regret the moment I spoke those words. Instantly, Something burned in those eyes of his. Something so intense and heavy that I couldn’t tell if it was anger, hatred or disbelief.

I expected yelling, crying or maybe even beating, but none of those came. Instead, I saw him leave my field of vision, his footsteps sounding colder than the snow around us. Each step was so monotone and ordinary that it felt empty, as if the bond that allowed us to read each other had completely snapped.

I cursed my inability to move.